Winter Weed Management

Most winter weeds start small but if ignored become larger and more of a problem. By the time spring comes they may be three feet across or sending up their stalk of flowers to seed to repeat their cycle. We are lucky in New Mexico to have many days in winter with warm and calm weather when a job outside in the yard is welcomed. Removing these unwanted plants can be a pleasant hour spent and leave more time in spring for other gardening.

First some basics: A weed is a plant that is growing where you don’t want it. Weeds are pioneers, the first to grow on bare earth, designed to break the ground open so others can follow. They are generally deep rooted, fast growing, spread rapidly, produce massive amounts of seeds, and are difficult to eliminate. They can take over a garden quickly because they reproduce by seed, from roots, or a stem part you left in the ground.

Successful treatment depends on identifying the weed and understanding its life cycle. Weeds are most easily killed or removed when they are small. Timing is also important. Late summer weeds overwinter and do most of their growth the following spring. Herbicides need warm weather to be effective and mulches and weed block fabrics are easier to place in spring or summer. I have found removal of

these weeds during the winter most gratifying. There are many kinds of tools that will help you get the roots loosened but sometimes I grab one of the knives a friend gave me when I bought my house in Thoreau. She said there is nothing better to remove deep rooted weeds than an old steak knife—she was right.

When you look around, there are usually only a few kinds of weeds that are green in winter. You will see: London Rocket, Common Mallow, Stork’s Beak, Dandelion, and Prickly Lettuce. I am focusing on the first three in this article.

LONDON ROCKET (Sisymbrium irio) is in the mustard family. Plants are a rosette of deeply lobed leaves similar to dandelion. In early spring it develops a tall stalk 2 to 3 feet tall with small yellow flowers in a cluster at the top. They are easy to pull.

COMMON MALLOW (Malva neglecta) is in the same family as hollyhocks. Plants start out as a small rosette of rounded leaves that have small white flowers and seeds like small hollyhock seeds. They rapidly become three feet wide and almost impossible to remove even with tools, so removing them early is a priority.

STORK’S BILL or Redstem filaree (Erodium cicutarium) is in the geranium family. It is also a rosette that puts out a flower stalk with one small pinkish flower. The seed is over one inch long and resembles a stork’s bill which gets into animal’s fur and people’s clothes. The plant pulls easily and doesn’t get as big as the common mallow.

All three of these “weeds” are edible and have medicinal properties. If you are interested in

Edith Iwan is a Cibola-McKinley County Master Gardener who lives and works in Thoreau. As a Master Gardener she assists the County Cooperative Extension Service in providing accurate, researchbased gardening information to county residents. If you have any gardening questions, please call the NMSU Cibola County Extension at 505-287-9266 or NMSU McKinley County Extension at 505-863-3432